Internal combustion engine

ABSTRACT

This invention provides an internal combustion engine, specifically a rotary engine, operable either by compression ignition or spark ignition and having an engine rotor with means for introducing combustible fuel to the rotor and means for exhausting burnt gases from the rotor, the rotor having at least one track for the travel therein of a free piston member, a free piston member in said track, and at least one reaction member operatively mounted in relation to the rotor so as to resist the application to the engine rotor of torque applied in a reverse direction upon the explosion of combustible gases within the rotor, the free piston member being operable upon such explosion of combustible gases to travel in said track to induce in the rotor an engine torque in the forward direction.

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fiieldons INTERNAL CUMBUSTIUN EN GllNE Inventor: .llohn llioystonSiddons, Chandella, Rosehill Road, Lower lPlenty, Victoria, AustraliaFiled: May 5, 1970 Appl. No: 341,771

Foreign Application Priority Date May 6, 1969 Australia ..54539/69 US.Cl. ..123/43 R, 123/44 D, 123/46 A, 60/D1G. l lint. Cl ..i 02b 71/00,F02d 39/10, F02b 57/04 Field of Search ..60/D1G. l; 123/46 R, 46 A,123/46 B, 46 SC, 43 R, 44 D References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,511,985 10/1924 Spencer ..l23/46 A Nichol ....123/46 SC Sykes ..l23/46SC Primary Examiner-Allan D. Herrmann Att0rney-Oberlin, Maky, Donnelly &Renner 5 7] ABSTRACT This invention provides an internal combustionengine, specifically a rotary engine, operable either by compressionignition or spark ignition and having an engine rotor with means forintroducing combustible fuel to the rotor and means for exhausting burntgases from the rotor, the rotor having at least one track for the traveltherein of a free piston member, a free piston member in said track, andat least one reaction member operatively mounted in relation to therotor so as to resist the application to the engine rotor of torqueapplied in a reverse direction upon the explosion of combustible gaseswithin the rotor, the free piston member being operable upon suchexplosion of combustible gases to travel in said track to induce in therotor an engine torque in the forward direction.

10 Claims, 110 Drawing Figures Patentea March 14, 1972 3,648,670

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented March 14, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet f;

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Marchl4, 1972 3,648,670

5Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented March 14, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INTERNALCOMBUSTION ENGINE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Many different forms anddesigns of internal combustion engine have been devised in the past, andthe majority of these are well knovm in the art.

This invention has been devised with the object of providing an improvedconstruction of rotary internal combustion engine which will have a highefliciency of operation and which will provide a high power output,particularly at low speeds.

The rotary engine provided by this invention has a frame, an enginerotor mounted on the frame for rotation relative thereto, said enginerotor having in it a track for the travel of a free piston membertherein, a free piston member in said track, and means for transmittingto the frame at least part of the force of reaction resulting from theexplosion of combustible gases in said track, the free piston memberbeing operable upon such explosion of combustible gases to travel insaid track to induce in the rotor an engine torque in the forwarddirection of rotation.

In the preferred construction of rotary engine made to date the track inthe engine rotor for the travel of the free piston member is of somewhatS-shape, having a middle part which passes through the axis of rotationand which is curved at its opposite ends in opposite directions so thatthe opposite end parts extend in opposite directions-either tangentiallyin parallel arrangement or arcuately about the axis of rotation. In thisconstruction the free piston member is spherical, the track in theengine rotor is of circular cross section and there is a reaction memberin each end part of the track, and the parts are so constructed,arranged and mounted that upon each explosion of gases in the spacebetween the free piston member and a reaction member said reactionmember is held against linear movement relative to the engine frame soas to permit the free piston member to induce a positive engine torquein the engine-that is to say, a torque in the driving direction.However, it is believed that it is not essential that the track shouldconform to that substantially S-shape, as I believe it may bestraight-such as substantially tangential to the direction of rotarymovementor arcuateas arcuate about the axis of rotation.

The parts of the engine rotor may be incorporated in a balanced flywheel member, and the several services to the engine-power,lubrication-may be incorporated therewith in any suitable manner.

Preferably the at least one reaction member is mounted slidably in thetrack at one end thereof and it may be operatively connected to anysuitable fixed part for holding the reaction member against rearwardmovement-as by slidable connection to an outer frame member through amember permitting one-way travel only, such as a sprag clutch, or by asimilar connection through linkage mechanism to part of the frame formounting the engine. As the engine rotor moves rotationally relative tothe at least one reaction member following each firing of thecombustible gases it is necessary to move the at least one reactionmember back to its operative position relative to the track after eachsuch rotational movement of the engine rotor, and in order to effectthis gas under pressure may be used, the exhaust gases being used forthat purpose and the gas being led from a suitable position in the trackto a position behind the at least one reaction member. Alternatively,other means may be used, such as spring means.

To provide for the admission of fuel to the end part of the track at thelocation whereat it is to be exploded the or each reaction member has avalve to control the flow of fuel through it, and there is a fuel pipefor conveying fuel from the fuel inlet to the end part of the track, theparts being so arranged that the supply of fuel to the track iscontrolled by the valve in the or each reaction member. The valve may bea leaf valve, poppet valve or other suitable valve.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readilyput into practical form I shall now describe with reference to theaccompanying illustrative drawings one experimental construction ofspark ignition internal combustion engine made according to thisinvention. In these drawings:

FIG. 11 is a side view of the engine mounted in a frame, which is whichis shown in vertical section;

FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section on the line and in the directionof the arrows 2-2 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, thereaction member being shown in cross section;

FIG. 4 shows a vertical cross section through part of the apparatus onthe plane and in the direction indicated by the line and arrows 4-4 ofFIG. 3;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are somewhat diagrammatic views similar to FIG. 2 butalso showing a simple form of the sprag clutch mechanism, the threeviews showing successive stages in the operation of the engine;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken; on the line and in the directionof the arrows 88 of FIG. ll;

FIG. 9 is a cross section taken on the plane and in the directionindicated by the line and arrows 9-9 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of the movement of the pistonfrom one end of the track and back again, the views (a), (b), (c) and(d) illustrating different stages in its travel.

The frame 11 has upright members 12 and 13 supporting respectively inletand exhaust pipes 14! and 15, the inlet pipe 14 being connected at oneend to a carburettor 16 and other fuel supply means (not shown) such asfuel pump and air filter, and at the other end to the hollow shaft 17 ofthe engine rotor 18, a suitable seal being provided. at the junction ofthe pipe 14 and shaft 17. The exhaust pipe 15 is connected to the outletpassage 119 of said engine rotor 11%, a suitable seal 20 being providedat the junction of the two.

The rotor has a hub 22 mounted in and by the frame I by bearings 23 forrotation about the common axis of the coaxial inlet and exhaust pipes 115. Extending outwardly from the hub 22 are two main engine arms 24 and25. The inner parts of these arms are straight and diarnetrallyopposedthat is to say, in in line relationship-as shown in FIG. 2. Eacharm is curved arcuately at the outer end of the inner part-that is, atabout its middle-at 26, the extent of the curvature being a little morethan and the outer parts 27 of the main engine arms extend insubstantially parallel arrangement, in opposite directions, these parts27 being straight and substantially tangential to the intended directionof rotation of the rotor M. A track 28 for a ball piston 29 is formedthrough the engine arms 24, 25 and the hub 22 so that the ball piston 29can travel smoothly from the outer end part 27 of the arm 24 to theouter part 27 of the other arm 25 without obstruction, the track 2%having a smooth bore of circular cross section and such diameter that itconstitutes a cylinder" for the ball piston 29. The middle part of thetrack 28 has an outlet opening connecting said track 28 to the outletpassage 19, so that gas can flow from within said track to the outletpassage 19 and exhaust pipe 15.

The hollow shaft 17 is integral with the hub 22 and it has an inletpassageway 3i branching at 32see FIG. tI-so as to lead to two fuel pipes33 and 34 connected at their inner ends to the hub 22 and at their outerends to the outer parts 27 of the two arms 24, 25 respectively, so as tobe adapted to convey or lead fuel to the outer end parts of the track23.

Fastened to the outer extremity of the outer part 27 of each engine arm24, 25 is a cap member 35 which is connected by a tube 36 to therelative arm 24, 25-see FIG. 2. Mounted slidably in the outer part 27 ofeach arm 24 25 are a reaction member 37 of the construction illustratedparticularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a pusher member 38. Each pushermember is a neat sliding fit in the cap member 35 and at its outer endis a neck part 39 of reduced thickness which constitutes a stop to limitthe outward movement of the pusher member 3%, such that the flow of gasthrough the tube 36 into the interior of the cap 35 will not berestricted. At one end of the reaction member is a head part 40 and atthe opposite end is an external flange or shoulder 41, the head part 40and shoulder 411 being neat sliding fits in the outer end part of thetrack 28. The body 42 of the reaction member 37 between the head 40 andshoulder 41 is the full width of the track 28 but is of reduced heightso that fuel can flow freely from the fuel pipe (33 or 34) into theouter part of said track 28. An opening 43 extends through the middle ofthe body 42, and in the inner end of the head part 40 is a valve seatingfor a poppet valve 44, with two ports 45 leading to the valve opening.The valve head is biased on its seating by a light spring which isretained in position by a suitable clip attached to the valve stem.Thus, fuel may flow through the ports 45 into the track 28 when thevalve head is lifted from its seating, which may be effected by thepressure of the fuel supply which may be assisted by suction from theexhaust.

A pin 47 extends laterally through the outer end part of the reactionmember and through longitudinal slots 48 in opposite sides of the outerpart 27 of each arm 24, 25. The pin 47 limits the forward slidingmovement of the reaction member 37 in the track 28 and connects themember 37 to two links 49. Each of the links 49 is connected to atransverse bar 50 extending between the outer ends of two lever arms 51,52 which are rigidly mounted at their inner ends on the outer housingsof a sprag clutch 53 and a ball race 54, respectively. As there is apair of lever arms 51, 52 for each of the main engine arms 24 and 25there are two sprag clutches, with a lever arm 51 attached to each, andtwo ball races 54, with a lever arm 52 attached to each. The two spragclutches 53 are mounted on a boss of the frame upright 13 and the twoball races 54 are mounted on the rotor hub 22. As the sprag clutches 53are mounted side-by-side, as are the ball races 54, it is apparent thatthe two lever arms 51 will not be of identical shape, and neither willthe two lever arms 52. However, for convenience, the same references areused for the two arms 51 and for the two arms 52.

The two sprag clutches are mounted so that, in considering the apparatusas shown in FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 7, they will permit anti-clockwiserotation of the engine rotor 18 but will hold it against clockwiserotation.

In the outer end part 27 of each of the arms 24, 25 there is a mountingfor a spark plug 56 and for a plug-switching means 57, here showndiagrammatically as a pressure biased plunger to be actuated by the ballpiston 29. There will also be provided the ancilliary equipment (notshown) for providing a spark of required intensity across the points ofthe spark plug 56 when the switching means 57 is operated.

The drive from the engine rotor 18 may be through a gear wheel, pulleywheel or other suitable means, depicted as a pulley wheel 58 in FIG. 1.

The operation of the internal combustion engine is depicted somewhatdiagrammatically in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 10. Considering the reactionmember 37 as being initially in the forward position as shown in FIG.and the ball piston 29 as having been driven along the track 28 towardsthe head part 40 of said reaction member 37 so as to compresscombustible gases within the track 28 between the head part 40 and theball 29 the plug switching means 57 is actuated to produce a suitablespark across the points of the plug 56 and the gaseous mixture isexploded. The force of the explosion will act on the reaction member 37and the ball piston 29. The reaction member 37 is held against rearwardmovement by the sprag clutch 53 acting through the lever arms 51, 52,bar 50, links 49 and pin 47 but the ball piston 29 can travel freely inthe track 28. By reason of the shape of the track 28 illustrated inthese drawingsthe track being of somewhat S-shape-the travel of the ballpiston 29 along the curved part 26 of the arm 24 induces ananticlockwise movement of the engine rotor 18. As the rotor has beenmoved in the forward direction relative to the reaction member, saidreaction member 37 is then in the position in relation to the outer part27 of the engine arm 24 as is shown in FIG. 6-in its rearmost positionin relation to the arm 24. As the ball piston 29 travels down thestraight part of the track 28 it passes the inner end of the tube 36 andthen gas under pressure can flow along the tube 36 into the cap 35 toforce the pusher member 38 and reaction member 37 forwardly in the outerend part 27 of the am 24, as shown in FIG. 7.

When the ball piston 29 passes the axis of rotation of the engine rotor18 the exhaust gases can travel into the outlet passage 19 and out theexhaust pipe 15.

The speed of the ball piston 29 is such that it then travels along thetrack 28 in the engine arm 25 to compress the gaseous mixture in thatarm between it and the head part 40 of the reaction member 37 in theouter end part 27 of the arm 25. The spark plug 56 mounted in that arm25 is then actuated, and the ball piston is driven, in the same manneras described above, in a return path back to the outer end part 27 ofthe arm 24. With each firing of the compressed combustible gases apositive engine torque is induced in the engine rotor 18 and said rotor18 is caused to travel forwardly, in an anti-clockwise direction whenviewing the apparatus in the direction as illustrated in the drawings.

Normal lubrication of the ball piston 29 and reaction member 37 iseffected by lubricant incorporated with the fuel but additionallubrication means may be incorporated.

These movements of the ball piston 29 in the track 28 are illustrateddiagrammatically in FIG. 10, part (a) showing the application of forcesto the reaction member 37 and to the ball piston 29 on the firing of thecombustible gases in one end of the track 28, part (b) showing theexhausting of the burnt gases with the travel of the ball piston 29 inits next compression stroke and the commencement of return of thereaction member, part (c) showing the application of forces to thereaction member 37 and to the ball piston 29 on the firing of thecombustible gases in the other end of the track 28, and part (d) showingthe exhausting of the burnt gases from the second part of the track 28with the ball piston 29 commencing its next compression stroke and theflow of gases to effect the return of the reaction member 37 to itsoperative position. It is to be noted that although the reaction membermoves rearwardly relative to the outer end part 27 of the track 28 itdoes in fact remain stationary on each firing and the engine rotor 18efiects the relative movement-thus the outward positions of the reactionmember 37 shown in this Figure are only diagrammatic.

It will be noted from the foregoing that in the operation of the enginethe rearward-acting force resulting from the explosion of a gaseousmixture in an outer end part of the track 28 is transmitted through therelative sprag clutch to the frame 11 while the forward-acting force istransmitted to the ball piston 29 which then induces a forward-actingengine torque in the rotor 18.

Instead of having the reaction members 37 connected through linkagemeans to sprag clutches mounted close to the hub 22 there may beprovided an outer frame member about the rotor 18 and the non-returnconnections of the members 37 may be to that outer frame member.

It will be understood that in the development of the invention to suitdifferent practical requirements many modifications will be required indetails of design, arrangement and construction, but all suchmodifications as come within the scope of the appended claims are to bedeemed to be included in the ambit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising an engine rotor having atleast one track for the travel therein of a free piston member, meansfor introducing combustible fuel to the track, means for exhaustingburnt gases from the track, a free piston member in said track, and atleast one reaction member operatively mounted in relation to the rotorin such manner as to resist the application to the engine rotor oftorque applied in a reverse direction upon the explosion of combustiblegases within the rotor, the free piston member being operable upon suchexplosion of combustible gases to travel in said track to induce in therotor an engine torque in the forward direction.

2. An internal combustion engine according to claim 1 wherein the trackis of substantially S-shape, having a middle part which passes throughthe axis of rotation of the engine rotor and is curved at its oppositeends in opposite directions, and outer end parts which extend inopposite directions.

3. An internal combustion engine according to claim 2 wherein the outerend parts are substantially tangential to the direction of rotation ofthe rotor and substantially parallel.

4. An internal combustion engine according to claim 11 wherein there isa reaction member in each of the opposite end parts of the track.

5. An internal combustion engine according to claim 4 wherein eachreaction member is slidably mounted in an end of the track and isoperatively connected through a one-way drive means to a frame member ofthe engine whereby the reaction from the explosion of gaseous fuel istransmitted to the engine frame for resisting the application to therotor of negative torque.

6. An internal combustion engine according to claim 1 wherein said onereaction member has gas inlet valve means arranged to permit the inletof a combustible gas to the interior of the track.

7. An internal combustion engine according to claim ll wherein the meansfor introducing combustible fuel to the rotor include at least one fuelsupply line for conveying fuel to the track at the location of said onereaction member.

b. An internal combustion engine according to claim ll wherein there aremeans for applying to said one reaction member a pressure to move saidreaction member forwardly relative to the rotor in the direction ofrotation of the rotor to an operative position in the track after itsdisplacement from such operative position on the explosion of thegaseous fuel.

9. An internal combustion engine according to claim 3 wherein the meansfor applying pressure to said one reaction member include a tube forconveying exhaust gas under pressure to the outer end of the track.

110. An internal combustion engine according to claim ll wherein thefree piston member is of spherical shape and the track is circular incross section.

1. An internal combustion engine comprising an engine rotor having atleast one track for the travel therein of a free piston member, meansfor introducing combustible fuel to the track, means for exhaustingburnt gases from the track, a free piston member in said track, and atleast one reaction member operatively mounted in relation to the rotorin such manner as to resist the application to the engine rotor oftorque applied in a reverse direction upon the explosion of combustiblegases within the rotor, the free piston member being operable upon suchexplosion of combustible gases to travel in said track to induce in therotor an engine torque in the forward direction.
 2. An internalcombustion engine according to claim 1 wherein the track is ofsubstantially S-shape, having a middle part which passes through theaxis of rotation of the engine rotor and is curved at its opposite endsin opposite directions, and outer end parts which extend in oppositedirections.
 3. An internal combustion engine according to claim 2wherein the outer end parts are substantially tangential to thedirection of rotation of the rotor and substantially parallel.
 4. Aninternal combustion engine according to claim 1 wherein there is areaction member in each of the opposite end parts of the track.
 5. Aninternal combustion engine according to claim 4 wherein each reactionmember is slidably mounted in an end of the track and is operativelyconnected through a one-way drive means to a frame member of the enginewhereby the reaction from the explosion of gaseous fuel is transmittedto the engine frame for resisting the application to the rotor ofnegative torque.
 6. An internal combustion engine according to claim 1wherein said one reaction member has gas inlet valve means arranged topermit the inlet of a combustible gas to the interior of the track. 7.An internal combustion engine according to claim 1 wherein the means forintroducing combustible fuel to the rotor include at least one fuelsupply line for conveying fuel to the track at the location of said onereaction member.
 8. An internal combustion engine according to claim 1wherein there are means for applying to said one reaction member apressure to move said reaction member forwardly relative to the rotor inthe direction of rotation of the rotor to an operative position in thetrack after its displacement from such operative position on theexplosion of the gaseous fuel.
 9. An internal combustion engineaCcording to claim 8 wherein the means for applying pressure to said onereaction member include a tube for conveying exhaust gas under pressureto the outer end of the track.
 10. An internal combustion engineaccording to claim 1 wherein the free piston member is of sphericalshape and the track is circular in cross section.